SOUTH AFRICA – Three South African female footballers and one from Lesotho have touched down in Spain for a unique training experience with none other than Villarreal CF! Thanks to a powerful partnership between Hollywoodbets, South Africa’s leading sports betting operator, and LaLiga, the European football giant, these four top players from the 2022 Hollywoodbets Super League have landed the incredible opportunity to learn from some of Spain’s finest players.
Nompumelelo Nyandeni (TS Galaxy Queens), Boitumelo Rabale (Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies), Nthabiseng Majiya (Richmond United FC) from Lesotho, and Katlego Moletsane (Royal AM FC) arrived in Spain on Sunday, eager to dive into the training sessions. They’ve already participated alongside the Villarreal women’s team and witnessed both the men’s and women’s teams showcase their skills in weekend matches.
Enrique Suay, the LaLiga delegate in South Africa, explained the program’s goals: “We want to expose these players to the unique training culture at Villarreal CF, including their world-class facilities, training methods, and match setups. Villarreal’s coaching focuses heavily on decision-making under pressure, so the idea is for these players to adapt and react quickly in tight spaces, forcing them to make split-second decisions.”
He added, “There’s also an undeniable personal growth aspect to this experience. Being in a different country with its own cuisine, art, and culture offers valuable lessons that extend beyond the football pitch.”
This exciting expedition wraps up on Monday, 5 February, before the players return to South Africa with newfound skills and experiences. Katlego Moletsane shared her impressions so far, “Since we arrived, the environment has been really good. We had the opportunity to explore the club’s facilities, and it’s quite exciting to see such infrastructure—it’s really motivating”. She further added, “We’ve had a couple of training sessions so far, and there are some differences from what we are used to in South Africa. The methodology and the drills are approached differently. From a player’s perspective, these sessions really encourage you to work harder through them.” In December last year Villarreal held a camp in Durban where two players were selected to participate in the club’s Player Training Week experience later this year.
“Moreover, this is not the first time South African players have visited the Yellow Submarine. In 2022, Jessica Wade and Mdu Shabalala also had the chance to visit the club,” Suay concluded. Morgan Shandu, head of operations at Hollywoodbets, recognizes the transformative power of investing in women’s football, “Last year, we sent the league’s best to Brentford FC, where they got to train with the Premier League’s women’s team. In the past few years, we have seen how teams like Sundowns Ladies have become giants on the African continent through their victories in the CAF Women’s Champions League, and how Banyana Banyana have gone from strength to strength as they become a force to be reckoned with. Hollywoodbets is proud to be a part of this journey as South African women’s football goes to the next level.”
